Kobi’s favourites:
So I have read 52 books this year lets try and pick my top 10 out of that! Errr this is going to be hard.
1. THE HUNGER GAMES TRILOGY by Suzanne Collins
Well I technically started this series in 2013 but I finished it in 2014. So… It counts! The Hunger Games is a popular series that I am sure you have all heard of and possibly read. This is the series that got me into reading. If it were not for these books I would not be here today.
2. A THOUSAND PIECES OF YOU by Claudia Gray
That cover though! Oh my gosh, this book gave me the feels! This book had me hooked straight away. I couldn’t put it down. This a story about a girl named Marguerite who’s parents are scientists and have invented this device called the Firebird which can transport you to alternate dimensions that you exist in. After her father is killed and the prime suspect is her parents lab assistant Paul who has stolen one of the firebirds and has jumped to a new dimension. Marguerite, with the help of another lab partner Theo, takes it up on themselves to chase Paul through the dimensions and to apprehend and possible kill him. This is such a fast paced thriller that flew through this book. You will probably love this book if you are into sci-fi/adventure books with bits of romance thrown in. I cannot wait for the second book to be published!
3. THE 5TH WAVE by Rick Yancey
I picked up this book because of the cover and I read it almost instantly after I got it. I finished it in two days then I had a huge book hang over for the next two days. I love this book so much. It’s very well written and I love the plot. This book is set during the alien apocalypse mainly in the point of view of Cassie Sullivan then eventually throughout the book more peoples points of view are added. This book is very intriguing as it is always making you second guess who you trust and the flipping between the past and present of Cassie’s life is also very interesting. I defiantly recommend this book to any one.
4. THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusac
This book! Gosh I am so happy I picked up The Book Thief. This book did take me a little while to read but when I got into it I didn’t want it to end. This is a very interesting book to describe to someone but lets give it a shot. The Book Thief is set during World War II in Germany. It’s about this little girl named Liesel who’s mother is a communist on the run so she gives up Liesel to this German couple. Liesel cannot read or write so the man, Hans, who is looking after her begins to teach her. Liesel soon finds that she has a love for books and begins to “borrow” books. But the interesting thing about this story is that it is told from Death’s point of view which gives a verytwist to this story that I loved. If you haven’t read this book, go and pick it up right now!
5. THE MAZE RUNNER SERIES by James Dashner
There are a lot of mixed feelings about this series but personally I loved it! Although I do agree with people when they say that the beginning is slow, I to did experience that but when you get towards the end of this book the pace does quicken, then the second and third books are just great! This book is about a boy called Thomas who wakes up inside a maze with a few dozen other boys. He has no memory of how he got here or of his life, the only thing he remembers is his name. Thomas is different he wants to be a runner, one of the people who work their way through the maze trying to find a way out. The Runners have been working for about 3 years to find a way out and they haven’t found anything. Will Thomas be the one to lead them to safety? This book is full of twists and turns. Something I enjoyed about this series is that there isn’t really too much of a love interest for Thomas. Because come on, if this really were to happen there wouldn’t be any time to love someone. But over all I thought this series was great and I cannot wait for the 5th book in this series to come out next year as well as the Scorched Trials movie!
6. THE ROSIE BLACK CHRONICLES by Lara Morgan
This is a lesser known series but I really wish more people would read it because it’s so freaking good! Personally I think it’s just as good a The Hunger Games and Divergent. The Rosie Black Chronicles is set 500 years into the future after the melt when the sun harmed the earth in many ways. New Perth has been split into 3 devisions the Centrals (the upper class), Bankers (the middle class), and the Ferals (the lower class). Rosie is a Banker, one day she finds an unusual box no knowing the secrets of the box Rosie finds herself on the run and having to trust to strangers. On a trip from Earth to Mars, Rosie slowly finds out the secrets of the box. This series is absolutely brilliant! I would love to read this series again some time soon. It’s a shame that you can only get this book in Australia but it is seriously worth getting!
7. THE GONE SERIES by Michael Grant
I brought Gone purely by seeing the slogan “Suddenly it’s a world without adults and normal has crashed and burned.” A world without adults? Awesome!! Well you would think so but ha ha nope! As a dome drops over … beach everyone over the age of 14 disappears, kids develop supernatural abilities, animals become mutated, and a creature lurks in the darkness. This series is an intriguing sci-fi adventure. This series isn’t for everyone. The series can be quite gruesome sometimes but it is not over done. So if you enjoy supernatural/mystery/drama books than you should enjoy this series.
8. DELIRIUM TRILOGY by Lauren Oliver
Love is a disease! By the age of 16 you are injected with the cure for love, gotten a husband chosen for you and the amount of kids you are to have. Lena cannot wait to get the cure, she’s been ready her whole life. When she goes in for an evaluation she comes across this security guard who secretly watches her during the evaluation. Through out the next weeks she keeps running into him. Soon she gets the disease and she falls in love with him. Okay that might sound cheesy but this book is crazy good. Delirium has its edge-of-your-seat moments that keep you wondering what’s going to happen next. These books are great for anyone no matter what you like to read you’ll probably love this trilogy.
9. THE EYE OF MINDS by James Dashner
I picked up this book about a month after reading The Maze Runner. I am so pleased I read this book when I did because a week after reading it the second book in the series came out which was really needed because the ending this book is crazy. The Eye of Minds is set in the future where virtual gaming exists. Michael spends most of his time on the Vert Net playing games with his two internet friends. Michael is a gamer but is also an expert hacker so when an evil gamer named Kaine begins hacking into gamers and making it impossible for them to leave the Vert Net, Michael and his friends get hired by the government to find him. Parts of this book reminded me of my adventures while reading The Scorched Trials. If you’re a gamer or just love a book with a bit of an adventure, be sure to pick up this book.
10. BLACK ICE by Becca Fitzpatrick
Not many people like this book but I really did, I had never read a contemporary-thriller before so I didn’t really know what to expect. Black Ice centres around a girl named Britt, when summer holidays come around Britt and her bestfriend Korbie decide to go on a hiking trip. In their way to the mountain a surprise snow storm hits which causes them to seek shelter. When they finally find a safe place to stay two men running away from the law, take both Britt and Korbie hostage in a desperate escape to get off the mountain. This is a thrilling story of survival that keeps you second guessing everything. Although there were a few flaws in the plot this was still a very interesting read.
Sayali’s Favourites:
Although, I didn’t manage to read as many books as Kobi did, I still read around 30 books this year. And it’s going to be just as hard to pick out 10 books for me, just as hard as it was for Kobi. So, here we go, my 10 favourite books of 2014:
1. THE INFERNAL DEVICES SERIES by Cassandra Clare
I’ve already done a review for these books, so you can go check it out here.
2. THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER by Stephen Chbosky
Perks Of Being A Wallflower is a coming-of-age novel. It’s about a teenager called Charlie, who is socially awkward and hasn’t really been active his whole life. But, that changes when he meets two young people at his own school, Sam and Patrick and then he starts enjoying his life even more. The book is a series of letters sent to an anonymous person. Charlie is a very intelligent person but he is an introvert so he’s always this shy and awkward person. The ending of the story taken an interesting turn and leaves the readers in tears. The book was adapted into a movie 2012, starring Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Erza Miller. Although, I don’t like book adaptions into movies, this movie was an exception since it delivered to its utmost.
3. CITY OF HEAVENLY FIRE by Cassandra Clare
City of Heavenly Fire is the last book of the #1 Best-Selling book series The Mortal Instruments. It’s an epic battle between the Shadowhunters and Clary’s brother Sebastian (aka Jonathan.) Lives are sacrificed and loves are lost in this finale of The Mortal Instruments. Honestly, this was a bit devastating for me, since one of the characters that I loved died and it was just painful. I won’t write anything more about this book, since I don’t want to give any spoilers, but this book was worth waiting for a year, is all I’ll say. If you’re being lazy to read this book, because it’s too long, don’t be and just go ahead and read it, I promise you won’t be let down, at all.
4. THE DEVIL WITHIN by Alhad Kulkarni
Devil Within is by an Indian author, and also one of my mum’s colleague’s books. I normally don’t read books by Indian authors, but his was an exception. Alhad has managed to fit a lot of suspense in around 200 pages. Once I started reading it I couldn’t keep it down. It’s an amazing book, and if you manage to get your hands on it, please do read it. It’s basically about a person called Andrew and how is life changes after meeting the love of his life Jenny, who is not who you think she is. You can even find a Kindle edition for the book.
5. PAPER TOWNS by John Green
Paper Towns is the third book written by the #1 Best-Selling author John Green. I don’t think I need to write a lot about this, since the book is so full of suspense, I don’t want to ruin it for you. Anyway, the story in short will suffice. Basically it’s about this teenager called Quentin Jacobsen. He has a wild night (not sex.) with his long time crush, Margo Roth Spieglman and the day after that she is nowhere to be found. So, the story basically revolves around how he and her friends try to find Margo. This book was announced to be made into a movie in 2014, and is currently going under production, I believe.
6. THE BANE CHRONICLES by Cassandra Clare
The Bane Chronicles is written by #1 Best-Selling authors Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan and Maureen Johnson. The book is a compilation of 11 short stories of Magnus Bane, one of Clare’s immortal characters from The Infernal Devices and The Mortal Instruments. If you are a fan of the series mentioned, then you should definitely read this companion book since it makes you bubble with excitement after just getting glimpses, or just even reading about a few certain characters in the books. This book is amazing, and it made me cry and laugh and everything at the same time.
7. FANGIRL by Rainbow Rowell
Fangirl is a very cute book that revolves around the life of twins, Reagan and Cath. They have been influenced by the books, Simon Snow (somewhat like Harry Potter.) and Cath has been writing fan fictions under the name of Magicath and becomes very famous for her fan fiction Carry On.
8. THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak
Go, check what Kobi has written up there!
9. THE MAZE RUNNER by James Dashner
Go, check what Kobi has written up there!
10. THE IRON TRIAL by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
The story revolves around Callum Hunt, a young magician, who gets into a university of magic and his adventures with his new friends Tamara Rajavi and Aaron Stewart. Although, the book may seem like a rip-off of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter, but once you start reading this book, you’ll realize it’s more than just a rip-off. Written by #1 Best-Selling authors Holly Black and Cassandra Clare, The Iron Trial is the first book of five books of the Magisterium series. It’s a thrill to read this book with so many ups and downs and heart breaking moments, as the trio struggles to get keep up with the other young magicians. The next book comes out this year, and I can’t wait to read it!
